Machine for scrubbing, brushing, and cleansing leather



C. RUHE AND F. R. BARKER. MACHINE FOR SCRUBBING, BRUSHING, AND CLEANSINGLEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13' 1919.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I TTORNEY c. RUHEAND F: R BARKER. MACHINE FOR SCBUBBING, BRUSHING,AND'CLEANSING LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1-919.

1,356,016, Patented Oct. 19,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- m/vron m M A TTORNEY STAT lii P li'l'ENT OFFICE.

RLETGN BU OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND FREDERIC R. BARKER, OF SALEM, UEETTS,ASEIGNQR-S, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO RUHE TAN- 1? ING I'JMifll-HNERYCOMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

Application filed June 13, 1919. Serial No. 304,070.

1 0 an whom it may concern:

3e it known that We, CARLn'roN Bonn, a

citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of llfianhuttan,cit county, and State of New York, and llnnoniuo ll. BAR- uniz, acitizen of the U ited States, residing at the city of Salem, county ofEssex, State of lv lassachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Machines for dcrubbing, Brushing, and Cleansing Leather,of which the following is a specilcation, reference being had to theaccompanying drzm'ings, in which like numerals indicate correspondingparts" in each of the several figures.

Our invention relates to certain improvements in that class of scrubbingand brushing machines illustrated in the prior patent of the above namedCarleton Rube, No. 1,233,709, and the important object of theillYGlltlOll is to provide acmachine of that character convenient inuse, expeditious in operation,composed of a few simple parts and adaptedto receive end holdthe hide or stock during the cleansing operation andwhile being subjected tothe action of the brushes thereon. Other objectsand advantages of the iniention will appear "oughout the course of thedescription. it fer-ring to the drawings Figure 1 1s a side elevation ofa. machine embodying our invention and Fig. 2 is a plan VlSW with partsbroken away and parts in section. l r the purpose of illustration thedrawshow a preferred. embodiment of the l. iveiition, but it is to beunderstood that the form of said invention here shown is to be token asa preferred type of the same and that various changes in the shape, sizeand arrangement of the several parts may be made or re o :ed to withoutdeparting from the spirit or the invention or the scope of the claimsmade thereon.

In the drawings the numeral l designates as shown by the dot and dashlines in Fig. l to a position of contact with the drum 11.

The rotatable drum 11 is preferably situated in the lower part of thiscasing or tub 10, being sustained by means of the. shaft 12 mounted onbearings 13 which bearings are sustained by rods l i, held up by springsAn endless conveys-r belt 16 passes about the circumference of the druml1 and also runs ov r an idler roller 17 which is curried in a rocker18, mounted on a. pivot 19. The rocker 18 is adjustable in and out bymeans of the rod 20 screwed into the nut 21 to enable the conveyor belt16 to be tightened as desired about the drum 1.1. The pressure feed roll22 runs on the surface of the drum 11 and is carried on the centerbearings 23 of the machine, being driven by the chain 24 at the samesurface speed with the drum lit, with which it holds contact. This chain24- passcs over a sprocket mounted on the shaft of the pressure feedroll 22 and al o over a sprocket mounted on the shaft 39 of the ciutch4L0.

Upon the opposite sides of the pressure feerl roll 22 are cylindricalbrushes 25 and 26 carried on roller bearings 27 and 28, which brushesalso hold contact with the drum ll. Power is preferably applied by meansof the pulley 29 through the shaft 30 of the brush 25 and is thendistributed by means of the worm 31 and worm gear 32 to the shaft Thisshaft 33 then distributes its power through the worm 34 and worm gear tothe drum 1.1. The power of the shaft 33 is also delivered to the tube 36through the agency of worm 37 and worm gear 88. The tube 36 thendistributes its power to the shaft 89 through the agency of a clutch4E0.

Theoperation of the mechanism of the clutch 40 is as follows: When thetreadle all is pushed down it rocks the shaft 42 end in so doing swingsthe rocker arm so as to disengage the-cam knuckle 44 out of the farecamand also with the some movement shoves the cone 4:6 in contact with theclutch linger 47 so as to give" an outward movement to said clutchfinger 47 in order to operate the clutch ring 41-8 with a contractingeffect on said tube 36. lVhen the clut h 40 is thus engaged with thetube it drives the shaft 39 through the agency of the set screw 19 whichmakes the said clutch 40 fast to the shaft 39. The power of thecontinuously driven tube 36 is thus transmitted to the shaft 39 untilthe face cam which is rigidly mounted on said shaft 39, revolvesone-half revolution, at which time the shape of the face cam 15 allowsthe ram knuckle 4% to engage itself, thus allowing the swing rocker 4:3to swing in and bring the cone 46 away from the clutch finger 17 whichby releasing the contracting clutch ring 18 from the continuously driventube 36, again disconnects the power of said tube 36.

It will be seen that by depressing the treadle 11 a half revolution isgiven to the shaft 39 from the continuously driven tube 36. When theshaft 39 is thus revolved a half revolution it swings the cranks 78which are fast upon said shaft 39 also though a half revolution. Thecranks 78 are connected with the rocker or swing arms 79 by means of acomposite connecting rod 50, which connecting rod 50 is composed of adouble diameter shaft 51 and a tube 52, the shaft 51 being adjustablyheld in the knuckle 53 and the tube 52 in the knuckle 54. Over the tube52 is mounted a spring 55 which is held in position at one end by a disk57 rigidly fastened to the shaft 51 and at the other end by adjustablenuts 58 upon the tube 52. The said shaft 51 is, as before mentioned,- ofdouble diameter, the larger diameter engaging the inside diameter of thetube 52 and the smaller diameter running through a nut 7 5 screwed intothe end of the tube 52 opposite to that end which is fastened to theconnecting rod knuckle 541. Thus it will be seen that by adjusting thenuts 56, additional pressure may be given to the spring 55 which willhave a tendency to spread the tube 52 and the shaft 51 away from eachother. The swing arms 79 are pivotally mounted on the shaft 59 of thepressure feed roll 22 and on the opposite end of said swing arms 7 9from the end to which said composite connecting rod 50 is pivoted isheld the brush 26 in roller bearings 28.

The drive for ;he brush 26 is obtained as follows:

On the shaft 30 of the brush 25, which is driven directly, is a chainsprocket 61, which, by means of a chain 62, drives a chain sprocket 68idly running upon the shaft 59 of the pressure roll 22. This idle chainsprocket 63 is integral with a gear 65 which meshes with a gear 66 heldin a stud 67, mounted in bearing 68 in the swing arms ?9 midway betweenthe center pivotal bearing 59 on the pressure feed roll 22 and thebearing 28 of the brush 26. Integral with this gear 66 is a chainsprocket 70, which by means of a chain 71, drives a chain sprocket 72rigidly fast to the shaft 78 of the brush 26, which shaft 73 is held inbearings 28 at the end of the swing arms 7 9 as before mentioned.

Thus it will be seen that the brush 26, is driven from the shaft 36 ofthe brush 25; from the chain sprocket 61 through the 70 chain 62 to thechain sprocket 63; from the gear 65 to the gear 66; from the chainsprocket '70 through the chain 71 to the chain sprocket T2 fastened tothe shaft 73 of brush 26, and hence, during the scrubbing of the hide,both the brushes 25 and 26 are continually revolving toward the feedroll 22 and in the opposite directions, as shown by the arrows.

The front brush 26 is brought into and out of contact with the drum 11in the following manner:

By referring to the description of the drive of the shaft 30, it will beremembered that by depressing the treadle the shaft 39 is given halfturn through the means of the clutch mechanism. Ti lien the treadle 4.1is thus depressed, the cranks 78 fastened upon the shaft 30 will revolvehalf a turn and will consequently give a throw to the compositeconnecting rod 50 which connects said cranks 78 with the swing arms 79equal in amount of twice the eccentricity of the crank.

The total of this throw is about I This throw of the compositeconnecting rod 56 is transmitted to the swing arms 79 as hereinbeforedescribed. It will be seen, therefore, that because of the fact that theswing rocker 79 is pivotally mounted approximately in the center on theshaft of the presure feed roll 22, a rocker effect is thus obtained andthis rocker effect brings the brush 26 in and out of contact with thedrum 11.

The machine is operated as follows: hen the machine is idle the brush 26will be out of contact with the drum 11 as shown by the positionindicated by the letter (6 in Fig. 1. The hide is then introducedbetween the pressure feed roll and the drum 11, eing carried. forward bythe action the on (301 0603 61? belt 16. l' i hcn the hide thus mencesto fees itself, the operator dep the treadle 41, thereby rocking theshe... and setting the mechanism of the clutch into operation, thusbringing the brush 26 down into contact with the drum 11 in the positionshown by the letter 7) in 1 and the scrubbing or cleansing .of thehideis then commenced. The brush 26 is; constantly scrubbing the hide as itpasses through the machine and the brush is again scrubbing it as itpasses out. conveyer belt 16 which passes over the drum 11 and the idlerroller 17 insures the proper feeding of the hide out of the machine. l lhen the hide has been thus entirely fed through the machine the operatoragain dopresses the treadle 41, thus allowing the brush 26 toautomatically give way from contact with the drum 11, and to resume andremain in its former idle position until the treadle is again depressed.The composite connecting rod 50 accommodates the varia tions in thethickness of the hide as it is subject to the action of the brushesduring the course of the operation.

It is optional to use a suitable liquid preparation to aid in cleansingthe hide while being subjected to the action of the brushes 25 and 26,which liquid p eparation may be supplied by a pipe or other means.

N0 means for the application of a liquid cleansing preparation to thehide are shown in the accompanying drawings, but the same would bepreferably supplied through a pipe or pipes situated in proximity to therotatable brushes 25 and 26.

It will be observed that the brush 25 and the feed roll 22 are drivenclockwise, while the brush 26 and the drum 11 carrying the endlessconveyer belt 16 are driven counterclockwise. Thus the hide will beengaged by the conveyer belt 16 carried on the circumference of the druml1 and running over the idler roller 11 and then brought into contactwith the brush 26 when the treadle 41 is depressed and the action of thebrush 26 will then assist in feeding the hide which is brought intocontact with the pressure feed roll 22 which serves to clamp the hide tothe conveyer belt 16; the action of the pressure feed roll 22 and thebrush 25 then serve to carry the hide forward and to discharge the samefrom the machine when the scrubbing operation is completed. Any suitableliquid cleansing preparation may be applied to the hide during itstravel through the machine and in any suitable or preferred manner.

The invention is not restricted to the use of a conveyer belt, as thesame could be omitted and the drum itself, without such belt, utilized.The conveyer belt will, however, greatly aid in the success oftheoperation. In some of the claims hereafter made, the mention of theconveyor belt will be omitted and the claims made for the drum alone.

Having described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, arotatable drum mounted upon a frame, a conveyer belt run-- ning oversaid drum and over an idler roller, a pressure feed roll arranged in proimity to the drum, a pair of rotatable brushes supported by the frame inproximity to and on opposite sides of the feed roll, the shaft of onebrush being adapted to receive power from an outside source, a worm andworm gear by means of which the power is transmitted from the said brushshaft to another shaft, which again distributes its power through a wormand worm gear to a continuously driven tube, the power of saidcontinuously driven tube being in turn dis tributed to another shaft bythe agency of a clutch mechanism, whereby a crank attached thereto isoperated by the action of a treadle in order to obtain a rocker eifectupon pivotally mounted swing arms carrying the second brush whereby saidsecond brush is moved into and out of contact with the drum, and meansfor feeding the hide auto matically.

2. In a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, a frame, arotatable drum supported by the frame, a feed roll connected with theframe and holding contact with the drum, two rotatable brushesoppositely disposed upon the intake and discharge sides ofthe feedrolhswinging arms pivotally mounted upon the shaft of the feed roll, oneend thereof being attached to a connecting rod composed of a doublediameter shaft and a tube both adjustably held in knuckle joints, theopposite end of said swing arms sustaining the intake brush so as toswing the said brush into and out of contact with the drum, a crankattached to the connecting rod on the end opposite said swing arms, saidcrank being mounted upon a shaft rotated by means of power transmittedfrom a continuously driven tube attached to said shaft, said tube beingprovided with a contracting ring operated by a clutch finger moved inand out by a cone operated by a rocker arm adapted to disengage a camknuckle and face cam, said rocker arm being mounted upon a shaft whichis rocked by the action of a treadle.

3. In a'machine for brushing, scrubbing or cleansing leather, a frame, arotatable drum mounted on a shaft in bearings, means for supporting saidbearings yieldingly, a feed roll sustained by said frame in proX- imityto the drum upon the center bearings of the machine driven by a chain orother means at the same surface speed as the drum, a rotatable brush inroller bearings disposed upon the discharge side of the feec roll incontact with the drum, another rotatable brush in roller bearingsdisposed upon the intake side of the feed roll, being out of contactwith the drum when in an idle position, said intake brush being mountedat one end of swing arms pivotally mounted on the center bearings of themachine, the other end of said swing arms being joined by a knuckle to acomposite rod connecting said arms to cranks mounted upon a shaftrotated by the operation of a treadle' and clutch through a continuouslydriven tube operated by a clutch ring and clutch finger in cooperationwith a rocker arm, face cam, cam knuckle and cone.

4. In a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, a frame, acasing opposite end of brush in roller bearings disposed upon thecontact intake side of the reed roll out of with the drum, a pair ofswing or tally mounted, one end thereof ben .1 idly attached to saidintake brush and the said arms being connected by means of a rod withcranks mounted on a shaft aoapted to be revolved a half revolution bythe movement of a clutch, means for operating said clutch whereby throwwill be given to the rod connecti the cranks with. the swing arms,thereby caus ing the said sving arms to be rocked and the intake brushto be brought into and away from a position of contact with the drum.

5. in a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, arotatable drum, a feed roll, a swing arm or rocker pivotally mounted onthe shaft of the feed roll, a rotatable brush disposed in rollergearings on the intake side of the feed roll carried by one end of saidswing arm, the other end of the swing arm being connected by means ofrod with cranks mounted on a shaft to which a clutch is rigidlyfastened, n'ieans for operating said clutch by a. treadle whereby rockermovement is imparted to the swing arm, causing the brush CuillOtl on theend of he swing arm to be l rought into and out of contact with thedrum, a second rotatable brush di -aosed in roller bearings upon thedischar e side of the feed roll held in contact with the drum, andautomatic means for feeding the hide between the drum and the feed roll.

6. In a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, arotatable drum supported by a frame, a feed roll also supported by theframe, a rotatable brush connected with the frame disposed in rollerhearings on the intake side of the feed roll, swing arms pivotallymounted, one end of said arms engaging and carryino said intake brush,the opposite end thereor engaging a rod connecting said swin arms withcranks rigidly mounted on a sh operating a half revolution by means of atreadlc and clutch mechanism, whereby said cranks are made to impart athrow to the connecting rod causing the pivotally mounted swing arms tomore the said intake brush into and out of contact with the drum, secondrotatable brush also sustained by the frame disposed in roller bearingsupon the discharge side of the feed roll, the same being mounted on ashaft receivin power for the operation of the machine, and means for thetransmission of the power from the shaft of the second brush to the drumand also to drive the intake brush, feed roll and drum.

7. In a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, arotatable drum, a eed roll, a rotatable brush disposed on the int keside of the cod roll, swing arms pivotall y mounted on the shaft of thefeed roll, one end thereof carrying said brush and the opposite endengaging a composite rod connecting said swing arms with cranks operatedby a treadle and clutch mechanism, the

i connectiw said cranks being composed a double d motor shaft and a tubeadustably held, means for spreading the tube and the said doublediameter shaft of said 0 nnecting rod apart in order to allow for thevariations in the thickness of hides, a second r tatable brush connectedwith the frame baring contact with the drum, and means for rotating saidbrushes and for feeding the hide between the drum and the feed roll.

8. In a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, arotatable drum, a

feed roll, a rotatable brush disposed on the intake side of the feedroll, swing arms pivotally mounted on the shaft of the feed roll, oneend thereof carrying said brush. and the opposite end engagingaconnecting rod uniting said swing arms to a crank rigidly mounted on aclutch shaft, saieL connecting rod consisting of a double f r shaft nd atube, each adjustably sust ined in knuckle joints, the larger di ameterof said shaft engaging the inside iamoter of the tube, the smallerdiameter REQFSOii running through a nut screwed into t is opposite endof the tube, also of a spring mounted on the tube, and also means forgiving additional pressure to said spring tending to spread the saidshaft and the said tube away from each other, and a second rotatablebrush having contact with said drum, and means for rotating said brushesand feeding the hide between the drum and feed roll.

9. in a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, arotatable drum or feed roll,-a rotatable brush disposed on the intakeside of the feed roll, swing arms pivotally mounted on the shaft of thefeed roll, one end thereof o rrying said brush and the opposite end en acomposite connectconnecting said swing arms with ing rod cranks operatedby a treadie and a clutch mechanism consisting of a rocker shaft whichis turned a half revolution by the action of said treadle, on which ismounted a rocker arm disengaging a cam knuckle out of a face cam andmoving a cone into contact witha clutch finger; causing a clutch ring tobe operated with a contracting effect upon a tube, thereby driving theshaft and imparting a rocker movement to said pivotally mounted swingarms by means of said cranks which are mounted on said shaft and are soconnected with said swing arms, and a second rotatable brush havingcontact with the drum, and, means for rotating said brushes and feedingthe hide between the drum and feed roll.

10, In a machine for scrubbing, brushing or cleansing leather, and incombination, a supporting frame, a rotatable drum, a conveyer beltrunning over said drum, a feed roll in proximity to the drum, arotatable brush disposed in roller hearings on the discharge side of thefeed roll in proximity to the drum, a swing arm or rocker pivotallymounted sustaining a second rotatable brush disposed in roller bearingson the intake side of the feed roll, means for rotating said brushes andsaid drum and feed roll and for feeding the hide automatically betweenthe drum and feed roll and means for bringing the second brush into andout of contact with the drum, said means being controlled by theoperation of a treadle and clutch adapted to impart a rocker movement tothe swing arm through the agency of a crank connected with the swingarm.

11. In a machine for scrubbing-brushing or cleansing leather and incombination, a supporting frame, a casing, a rotatable drum mounted on ashaft in bearings, an endless conveyor belt passing around thecircumference of the drum and also over an idler roller carried in apivotally mounted rocker, a feed roll mounted on a shaft having con tactwith the drum, a swing arm or rocker pivotally mounted on the shaftofthe feed roll, a rotatable brush mounted in roller bearings upon ashaft receiving powerfor operating the machine and disposed upon thedischarge side of the feed roll in contact,

with the drum, a second rotatable brush attached to said swing armmounted in roller bearings upon a shaft disposed on the intake side ofthe feed roll, means for the trans mission of power from the shaft ofthe first brush, a clutch mechanism mounted on a,

shaft rocked a half revolution by the movement of a treadle attachedthereto by means of which a crank mounted on said clutch shaft transmitsa throw to a composite connecting rod uniting said cranks with saidswing arms, causing said intake brush to be brought in and out ofcontact with the drum, substantially as shown and described.

CARLETON RUHE. FREDERIO Re BARKER.

